Slater Withdraws from Tahiti Pro

For the sixth time this season, Kelly Slater has withdrawn himself from another ‘CT event–this time from the Tahiti Pro Teahupoo, set to start later this week.

According to a tweet by the WSL, Slater has removed himself from competition due to his ongoing foot injury–a phrase we’ve unfortunately heard way too much this year. Historically, the GOAT has always performed well at Teahupoo, and surely a top finish here would’ve helped him move up on the rankings (Slater currently sits at #36 on the Jeep Leaderboard).

Taking his place will be Australian Mikey Wright, who’s ranked No. 9 in the world right now. Wright has surfed every event on the ‘CT schedule so far this year as either a wildcard or alternate with the exception of Bells. A good finish for the mulleted, no-holds-barred charger will get him one step closer to making the 2019 ‘CT.

The event is set to start on August 1oth and according to Surfline, the official forecaster of the WSL, “nothing of substance” will be hitting Tahiti’s notorious slab in the short-range and only “modest possibly fun size pulses” are projected for the long range.